He may very well be the perfect ex...Isaac McKnight has had enough loss in his life to know never to take anything for granted. So when the perfectly-imperfect-woman-for-him puts an end to their relationship out of the blue, it's Isaac that makes sure they remain friends. Now a year later, whether it's at his gym or her brewpub, or the dog park they visit every weekend--though neither of them own a dog--he and Xoey are steadily getting sucked deeper into buddy-zone galaxy, with its dangerous proximity to watch-me-settle-down-with-someone-else abyss. It's a reality he's resigned himself to. That is...until one drunken confession changes everything.But she's looking for the perfect 'oh'...For Xoey Montenegro, history has taught her that sometimes, it's Prince Charming who vanishes without a trace. And fairytale love? Highly overrated. Heck, give her a real and perfect 'oh' over that fantasy any day. So as far as rock-solid tequila-fueled plans for her love life go, coming up with a match-finding formula based on the qualities of the men responsible for her three most epic ohs seems brilliant. Except for the fact that one-third of her genius little man-quation is all about her friend Isaac. Actually, more than a third if Xoey were being honest with herself--which she's not. Because full honesty would require thinking not just about how perfect Isaac really is, but also about how perfect the fourth epic oh she's kept buried deep in her past once was. An easy enough thing to keep ignoring...until her past isn't past tense anymore.

Excerpt

Isaac
plopped down beside her on the bench. “Hey, that’s a cute puppy. I’m
adding him to my list,” he declared, planting a warm kiss on her cheek, along
with an icy cold cup of frozen coffee goodness in her hands.

Xoey
wasn’t sure which was making her shiver.

“You have
over two dozen dogs on that list of yours. Unless your future wife is Mrs. Doolittle, you’re going to have to start
making some cuts to your future white picket fence pet,” she replied in an
impressively steady tone. It had taken
awhile after their break-up, but with time, Isaac’s lips on her skin no longer
made her punch-drunk with lust.

Not
outwardly, at least.

Sipping
his piping hot black coffee, he nodded over at the fancy iced mocha drink he’d
brought for her—or as he liked to call it, the milk and sugar with a splash of
caffeine—and gave her a smug smile as he reached for the bag of doughnuts she’d
brought for their breakfast.

The
man knew her frighteningly well.

It
had begun as a game a while back. He’d
guess what she was selecting for their little weekly breakfast picnic, and
bring the drinks he knew would pair with it. In the last few months, he’d only been wrong once.

Isaac
munched on a doughnut thoughtfully and watched the puppy in question flopping
along next to the engaged couple. “Nope,
that one’s too cute. He’s staying on the
list.” With a half shrug, he concluded, “I guess that means I’ll have to marry
Mrs. Doolittle.”

Xoey
was just plain shocked at the sharp bolt of pain she felt tearing through her
chest over the joke.

“Hey,
you okay, sweetie?”

Isaac
squeezed her knee, a worried gaze running over her face and then lower.

To
where her hand was pressed against her heart.

“Heartburn,”
she fibbed, rubbing her chest the way she saw folks on antacid commercials do
it.

Instantly,
her bag of bacon doughnuts were yanked off her lap. “I knew these things were bad for you. You’re calling your doctor in the morning to
get a check-up. Sometimes, heartburn is
a symptom of something dangerous. In the
meantime, I’m going to set you up with one of my trainers to get you on a
cardio plan.” Reaching into her pocket,
he pulled out her phone and entered her password to unlock it.

She
peered over and saw him googling something. “What are you doing?”

“Checking
to see if these cups of liquid sugar and caffeine over ice you drink can cause
heart problems.” He read through the results for a minute and shook his
head. “Apparently not, but better to
switch to tea or just plain water to be safe.”

Intense
hazel eyes proceeded to x-ray every inch of her body, while gentle, utterly
masculine hands that every inch of her body still remembered stroked her back.

She
released a jagged breath.

Which
of course, he interpreted as her final descent toward the big, bright light at
the end of the tunnel.

He
gripped her hand. “Do you want me to
take you to urgent care or the ER?”

“I’m
fine, Isaac. Calm down.”

He
did not look convinced.

He
then proceeded to slide his fingers over to her wrist to check her pulse.

Oh
God, the man was just too lovable sometimes.

“I
lied, I don’t have heartburn,” she admitted, to stop what was clearly going to
be a call to 911 in a bit.

“I
just…I was holding my heart because I was jealous. Of Mrs. Doolittle.” She snatched back her precious bacon doughnuts. “If you go off and have a few dozen puppies
with Mrs. Doolittle, who’s going to come to the dog park with me every
morning?” she threw in to make this less of a declaration of the heart. “I’m too old and set in my ways to break in a
new weird friend who’ll get me the way you do.”

Silence.

Until
warm, calloused fingers reached over and broke a piece of doughnut off.

After
a few quiet moments of chewing, Isaac put his arm around her. “Can you imagine the industrial sized pooper
scooper I’d have to buy to pick up after a few dozen dogs?” He shook his head. “I think Mrs. Doolittle and I would be doomed
within the first week,” he lamented gravely.
“Looks like you’ll be stuck with me for a bit longer, babe.”

Improbable
promise coming from a catch like Isaac or not, Xoey held on to it tight like a
security blanket.

NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY bestselling author Violet Duke is a former professor of English Education who is ecstatic to now be on the other side of the page writing wickedly fun contemporary romance novels. Her NYT and USA Today bestselling books have been Top 10 bestsellers across the major eretailers both in the US and internationally. When she's not writing or feeding her book-a-day reading addiction, Violet enjoys tackling reno projects with her power tools, trying pretty much anything without reading the directions first, and cooking 'special edition' dishes that laugh in the face of recipes. A born and raised island girl, she spends her days getting into creatively fun trouble in Hawai'i alongside her two cute kids (daughter Violet & son Duke) and similarly adorable husband.